Friday, October 14, 2016

Comment:Please move the new painting (now on the back
corner of the building) to a more visible location.It is too important a message and too
beautiful to be in the back.

Response:We’re so glad to hear that you love our “Ezra
Cornell” mural as much as we do!One of
the driving factors behind this beautiful piece—created by artist Nestor Madalengoitia—was our desire to make the back of our
building more recognizable, since there it doesn’t have any library
signage.We are hopeful that our entire
community will take the time that you did to view and appreciate this special
work of art.

Comment:Thanks for bringing “The New Jim Crow” to the
community, and they’re all off the shelf very fast.The community is really alert and has had a
strong response to the Community Read.I
hope to see more from you!

Response:We are honored to be able to partner with the
Multicultural Resource Center to bring “The New Jim Crow” Community Read to our
patrons.We had nearly two hundred
copies of the book in circulation, and within just a few days, our patrons had
embraced the Read and checked out every single one—what a tremendous testament
to our community!

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Comment:The third stall in the bathroom for women has
been unrepaired for over a year now. There were a few women turned away as the
stalls were busy for a long time.This
has happened to me repeatedly.There
used to be a policy for the children’s bath in case of emergencies—which I
had.Please change this shameful
situation.

Response:We appreciate your candor and willingness to
share your feedback.We recognize the need
for renovations to our restrooms and are working with the Tompkins County
Facilities Department to develop a timeline for these necessary repairs.In the meantime, we apologize for the
inconvenience.

Comment:Stephen Salino should get much praise.He has been very helpful and kind!

Response:Thank you so much for taking the time to
share your kind words about Stephen.He
has been a tremendous addition to our staff, and we are delighted to hear that
you have enjoyed interacting with him during your library visits.Our staff members are truly dedicated to
making our library a special place to visit!

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Comment:I just wanted to mention how unpleasant I
find the painting of a large red rifle that “killed 17 people.”The image and information is out of place in
a public library.

Response:Thank you so much for taking the time to
share your feedback about our recent art exhibit, “Project for a Re-Volution in
New York.” As a public library, we find
ourselves at the center of many important and thought-provoking community
conversations.While the services and
collections we provide are carefully selected to serve as a reflection of our
community’s needs, we also feel very strongly that we shouldn’t censor art,
books or music based on personal preference or political ideas. In the case of
this exhibit, Curator Todd Ayoung asked artists to translate their perceptions
of the word “revolution” into art.The
result was an eclectic exhibit with 22 different perspectives, including the
painted guns placed throughout the stacks.Though uncomfortable for some, housing an exhibit of this type within
the library allows for a safe place for community members to hold important,
difficult discussion about societal trends and issues.We hope you will consider joining us later
this spring when we host a presentation about public art, its roles and responsibilities.Please know how much we appreciate your
thoughtful comments.They will help us
as we plan for future exhibits.

Comment:Order more books for the STEAM Book Club.

Response:We are delighted to
hear of your interest in our Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics
Book Club.We truly believe that
programs like this one will prove instrumental in helping prepare young adults
for the high school, college and beyond.A relatively new program, the Club has been gaining “steam” of its own
in recent weeks, which has resulted in the need to order additional copies for
interested patrons.Please know that we
want as many students to attend as possible and will always order additional
copies to accommodate interested participants.

Comment:Label the Comment Box.

Response:Thank you for this practical suggestion!We’re glad you were able to find the box so
that you could share your feedback!We
will be happy to create signage to make locating the box easier.

Comment:Audio recording for phone messages needs
improvement.

Response:Thanks for sharing your concerns about our
recorded phone greeting.We are always
looking for ways to make contacting and communicating with the library easier
for our patrons.Please contact Carrie
Wheeler-Carmenatty at cwheeler@tcpl.org
to offer additional insight into the improvements you would like to see.

Comment:Put a recycling bin up front.

Response:As a leader in our community’s sustainability
movement, we are delighted to receive your request to make recycling easier
during your visits to TCPL.We will be
happy to add an additional recycling bin to our lobby,

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Comment:On library email notices, please reverse your
message.State items out and their due
dates first, followed by items being automatically renewed.This would draw attention to items not
renewed and due sooner.

Response:Thank you for your thoughtful
suggestion.We are delighted to be able
to offer automatic renewals to our patrons and pleased that you use email
notifications to keep your account current. We will reach out to our colleagues at the
Finger Lakes Library System, as they manage our electronic account notifications,
and ask that they explore the possibility of a change of this type.We appreciate your suggestion, and are
constantly looking at ways to enhance and enrich library services.

Comment:I’m really not comfortable with the
depictions of guns scattered throughout the library.There are too many youth in this community
who would take that as glorifying the use of guns.It’s disturbing, but then, I guess it is
supposed to be.

Response:Thank you for sharing your concerns about our
current art exhibit, “Project for a Re-Volution in New York.”The wooden guns scattered throughout our stacks
depict the models of weapons used in mass shootings in the United States during
recent years.We feel strongly that the public
library is a neutral space for important, and often difficult, community
conversations; however, we did take extreme care to keep this particular
installation limited to areas of the library less frequented by young
patrons.We are fortunate to be able to
bring thought-provoking, museum-quality art exhibits to our community and
appreciate that you have taken the time to explore the exhibit and share your
concerns.We will use this feedback as
we select future exhibits.

Comment:People know urine from the men’s room floor
is frequently tracked onto the carpet.I
don’t know if it is ever shampooed.Please put in tile (cheaper) floor and people will feel much
better.

Response:
Please be assured that cleanliness is extremely important to all of us at TCPL.
Our dedicated Facilities team works diligently to keep the library looking
beautiful for nearly 400,000 visitors each year.Even after 15 years, regular shampooing has
helped to keep our carpets relatively stain-free. As part of our upcoming
renovations, however, our wall-to-wall carpeting will be replaced with
removable carpet squares—making the replacement of worn or damaged sections
easier and more affordable.

Comment:Change your hours.I work during the day.Stay open until 11 p.m.!

Response:We appreciate your request and share your
desire for extended library hours.While
current funding limitations prevent us from offering additional hours at this
time, we have recently expanded our daily hours and are currently open on
Sundays.Please visit our website for
more information about our hours and services.

Comment:Hi!Please change the self-checkout program in the kids’ area, so that it is
like the one in the adult area—no bees, ants or ladybugs on the screen.Such distractions are pointless and contribute
to ADD and just plain old distraction.I
want my daughter to learn to be focused, not scatter-brained and unable to
concentrate.Thanks for being an awesome
library!PS—Fewer screens throughout the
library would be most appreciated.

Response:Thank you for your feedback and for helping
your daughter to establish a lifelong love of literacy and learning through
regular visits to the library.The goal
of our Youth Services staff is to make the library accessible and enjoyable to
children and families at every age and every stage.While some parents and young patrons prefer
to browse and borrow from our expansive print collection, others find learning
opportunities through our digital offerings. We want our youngest users to feel
that our Youth Services Department is truly a place where they are encouraged to
learn, play and explore at their own pace and with tools designed specifically
for them. However, our entire collection, and the self-checkouts in the adult
section are available for those who require or prefer less visual stimulation.Please visit us often and continue to
encourage your daughter to celebrate the magic of reading!